The Author Check API is a research integrity tool designed to help publishers and institutions evaluate researcher histories. It enables users to identify potential risks—such as retractions or atypical collaboration patterns—by querying a comprehensive dataset of flagged publications and researcher networks.
Key Features
- Multifaceted Search: Locate researchers using a variety of identifiers, including Name, Affiliation, ORCID, DOI, or Dimensions ID.
- Integrity Flagging: Access detailed information on “flagged“ publications, including specific reasons for retractions (e.g., concerns about results/conclusions) sourced from databases like Retraction Watch.
- Network Analysis: Analyze a researcher's broader influence by retrieving their top co-authors and assessing the “strength of collaboration“ through shared publication counts.
- Risk Metrics: Gain instant visibility into critical metrics such as
flaggedPublicationsCountandcoauthorsWithFlaggedPubto spot risks within a researcher's professional network. - Seamless Integration: A RESTful JSON API that integrates directly into existing editorial systems or submission workflows via standard HTTP protocols.
Use Cases
- Submission Screening: Automatically scan authors of incoming manuscripts to flag histories of retractions or “tortured phrases“ before the peer-review process begins.
- Reviewer & Editor Vetting: Verify the integrity of potential peer reviewers or guest editors by ensuring they are not part of suspicious or fabricated collaboration networks.
- Editorial Board Audits: Conduct periodic health checks on journal leadership to maintain institutional trust and high editorial standards.
- Archive Cleansing: Perform large-scale historical analyses of institutional archives to identify and mitigate previously overlooked integrity risks.
